“When God Turns It Around”
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
SCRIPTURE: Psalms 126
PRAYER
OPENING:- We have all had times in our life where we had good days and bad days, we have cried late in the midnight hours when we thought no one was listening, we struggled with our faith because even though we knew God can and God will the truth and the facts just didn’t line up so we struggled with our faith because it seems by now, by this time in my walk with God that this should be done with, I should be pass this by now, I shouldn’t still be dealing with this. I truly love the book of Psalms because it gives voice to the emotions that we often can’t speak out loud. The book of Psalms expresses the truth of how we feel by saying things like Psalms 130:1 “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord”. Then there is Psalms 102:2 that expresses how people feel that are in total desperation when it says “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My sore ran in the night and ceased not; my soul refused to be comforted”. Then there is Psalms 73:2 which describes how someone may feel when they are at the point of giving up when it says, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had almost slipped”.
When we are faced with tragedies that are now just commonplace, all kinds of diseases, people are slipping away, economies down, people can't get enough pay or find enough food to eat. Folks without homes living out in the streets, ice raids happening in every place, no one seems to be safe. Our political, economic, social, educational, and health situation is totally out of control. Diseases that were practically eliminated or at least highly manageable are making a ferocious comeback and we are being plagued with things that will set the health industry back 50 years. The educational system is being demolished and rewritten trying to change truth into a lie and erase cultures, heritage, and lineage from existence. The economic structure is collapsing the poor get poorer and the rich don’t care, the wealthiest people on earth are causing the suffering and deaths of the poorest people on the planet and we find ourselves in a situation that unless God turns it around what are we going to do?
Psalms 126 is 1 of 15 Psalms called the Songs of Ascent and one of the general understandings of that is these Psalms were sung by the people on the ascending march from the Babylon captivity back to Jerusalem. It is a song of Celebration and Hope for the two phases the Children of Israel would experience. First the celebration of joy for the liberation and restoration from captivity in Babylon back to Jerusalem. Second was a prayer of Hope for the future to overcome hardship and difficult times. It goes from the memory of the past of joy and happiness where the people felt their liberation was a dream to a cry for God to intervene in the current struggles and hardships yet encouraging perseverance with the promise that those that sow in tears will reap in joy.
Part #1
Psalms 126:1-3 “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad”.
Vs#1: - Cyrus defeated Babylon 539 B.C. and he let the Children of Israel return to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. When they returned, restoration bought them an experience of remembrance of when it was only a dream. A time when they only dreamed that freedom would ring that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. It took them back to when they could only dream of a time when people were judged by the content of their character, free from racial and social discrimination. They remembered the beauty of Solomons Temple and no doubt quoted Psalms 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple”. Although they would build a new temple it failed in comparison to what they remembered.
Vs#2: - The experience of remembering when it was just a dream produced a reaction “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing”. These are not just expressed emotions of joy and happiness but express a deeper meaning. Laughter in Hebrew is (Schowq pronounced sekh-oke) it means to mock, in defiance, derision. This is when you can look back and say like Joseph in Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day”. You tried to destroy us, you tried to erase us, you stole our heritage, beat our culture out of us, robbed us of our identity, language, family, but we survived, we are still here you meant it for bad, but God meant it unto our good. Singing in Hebrew is Rinnah pronounced rin-naw) meaning a shout of triumph, rejoicing – you tried to silience us but God turned it around now we shout with the voice of triumph VICTORY.
Vs#2 continues with “then said they among the nations, The Lord hath done great things for them”. Nations is heathens or Gentiles, those that are not the chosen people of God, the Amam. WATCH THIS:- in the midst of the ones that oppressed, enslaved, segregated, dehumanized, humiliated, and discriminated against we are able to shout with the voice of triumph like David said in Psalms 23:5 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over”. It causes the Gentile nations, the heathen to acknowledge how great God is and worship of God.
Vs#3: - The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad”. Great Things in Hebrew is Gadal to exceed, excellent, increase, and magnify. Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we may ask or think according to the power that worketh in us” when God turns it around He does exceeding abundantly above what you can even imagine – its literally mind blowing. “and we are glad” Glad in Hebrew is (Sameach pronounced saw-may) means filled with joy, joyful. After years of bondage, oppression, humiliation, and degradation, after years of being told they are useless, come from nothing, have no heritage or culture, been lied to, emasculated, raped, murdered, families torn apart, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally abused God turns it around and they are free, they are able to go back to where they belong, where they have their heritage restored, their culture restored, their language restored they would have that feeling of belonging again and not just existing. No longer bound, no longer in captivity, but they were free and the joy they felt down on the inside was bubbling like the Sunday school song we used to sing “It’s a bubbling down in my soul I’m sing I’m shouting I got to let everybody know”.
That’s Psalms 126 Part 1
Part 2
Vs#4: - “Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south”. Here the celebration turns to a plea for a new outpouring of God’s favor. Turn again in Hebrew is Shuwb and means restore, return, to take back to the starting point, make it like it used to be, take me back to the place where I first believed. There were some that stayed in Babylon even after they had been freed because they were comfortable and got used to the way things were, felt they were too old to change, or just mentally and spiritually defeated that they would rather stay in captivity. So often people get conditioned to their circumstances and don’t even realize they have been set free. I am reminded about the story of the circus elephant that had a chain around its leg and he was chained to a stake in the ground. The elephant tried to break the chain and escape, but the chain made a sore on its leg, so it stopped trying to escape. After being chained for so long when the chain was removed the elephant wouldn’t go anywhere because it was conditioned that the chain was around its leg and it could only go so far before the pain started again. Even though the chain was removed the mindset was still in captivity.
Captivity in Hebrew is Shebooth those that are still bound, those that refused to leave, those that had developed the mind-set like Jasper in Hollywood Shuffle “Jasper don’t wants freedom. I don’t know’s why people want to leave master feeds us on Saturday, clothes us on Sunday and beats us on Monday”. So, they cry out a sincere plea for God’s favor to flow upon them like the “streams in the Negev”. Negev is a dry desert area that only gets about 8 inches of rain a year, but when it rains its and abundance, an overflow, a flood all at once to the point where the people of the land had to dig channels to divert the water flow to cultivate the land in other areas. This is the plea they were asking God to pour on those that were trapped in the slave mentality, emotionally emasculated, spiritually spent.
Vs#5: - “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy”. This is a promise of HOPE because it wasn’t going to be easy to return, there was going to be some hard work ahead, there were some tough decisions that would have to be made. However they use the analogy of a farmer sowing seeds that have been soaked, and they say sowed in tears. WATCH THIS: - Farmers will soak their seeds before they plant them in the ground because it speeds up the germination and increases the success rate by softening the outer shell, which allows water and nutrients to penetrate the seed easily. This process helps break dormancy and will kick-start the growth process. When you sow your seeds with tears, when you pray and cry, when you work and labor with faith and hope through your hardships, trials, disappointments, and sorrows, the promise of joy is your reward. Yes, life will bring pain, loss, suffering but persevere press through the difficult times and have the assurance that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. For when you shall reap you will reap in Joy with a shout of triumph.
Vs#6: - Repeats vs#5 but adds “Carrying his sheeves” – this is bringing home the reward of faithful work after struggle, hardship, trials. It is a harvest physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually because of the tears in sowing. The sheeves represent a future that is filled with joy, blessings, abundance, peace, freedom, health, prosperity. Because when God turns it around He restores everything and does so exceeding abundantly above all we may as or think.
Psalms 126 is about the Hope and Trust we must have in God’s faithfulness and desire to deliver His people. We must remember His past goodness because it is that which will ignite our current faith understanding that when God turns it around the mess becomes a message, the trials become triumphs, and victims become victors. Sure, there will be times of hardship, tough decisions, loneliness but we must always remember He will never leave us nor forsake us, we may feel lonely but we are never alone because He walks with us as we travel along the way.
We must learn to trust that God will turn our situation around completely. When the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus garment and Jesus, turned and said who touched me? He said to the woman “Daughter, your faith has made you whole”. He turned her situation around and when God turns it around everything changed, her status changed she went from the woman with the issue of blood to being called Daughter. Her place in society went from being a cast away to being a functional part of society. Her relationship changed and she went from being pushed out to purpose. Just like the Ten lepers that Jesus healed in Luke 17 and only one came running back to Him to say Thank You, he had a new walk, a new talk, a new point of view old things had passed away and behold all things were new.
CLOSING: - When God turns it around it is never the same again old things become new, the weight that once held you down is lifted. When God turns it around you now have peace that passeth all understanding and Joy unspeakable full of glory.
When God turns it around addiction gives way to freedom, the impossible becomes possible, the oppressed are freed.
When God turns it around you are able to stand, stand the trials the devil uses against, stand victorious with your head held high, stand on the solid rock which is Jesus because all other ground is sinking sand.
When God turns it around little becomes much.
What ever you may be dealing with, whatever circumstances you are going through just sow your seed in tears and watch God turn your situation around.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
